Do Model Organisms Need an Impact Factor? New Study Tracks Citations of Key Research Resources

Biological resources rarely get credit. This study shows how RRIDs are changing that—and improving science along the way.

SAN DIEGO, CA, UNITED STATES, August 13, 2025 /EINPresswire.com/ -- A new study from SciCrunch Inc. and academic collaborators highlights a persistent problem in biomedical research: researchers often fail to cite key biological resources—like mice, frogs, or antibodies—in a way that makes them easily identifiable. This makes it hard to track how resources are used or ensure that studies are reproducible.

The study analyzed over 3,000 papers referencing materials from five NIH-supported stock centers. Researchers found that when these centers encourage the use of RRIDs (Research Resource Identifiers)—persistent identifiers similar to barcodes—citation practices improved dramatically. In some cases, accurate and findable citations jumped from around 50% to over 85%.

"RRIDs are more than just good metadata—they’re a foundation for transparent, reproducible science," said lead author Agata Piekniewska of SciCrunch.

The paper also found that studies using resources cited with RRIDs scored higher on SciScore’s Rigor and Transparency Index (RTI), suggesting that good citation practices are linked to higher-quality science overall.

Stock centers, which are mostly funded by grants, need evidence of their impact to sustain support. Yet without consistent citation practices, tracking resource use is time-consuming and unreliable. The study estimates that RRIDs could save hours of manual work and even help reduce the estimated $10.8 billion lost annually to irreproducible research in the U.S.
While some journals request authors use RRIDs, the study finds that stock centers play a big role in driving adoption. Centers that added RRIDs to their websites and launched community awareness efforts saw the biggest improvements in citation quality.
“RRIDs don’t just improve how resources are cited—they embody good scientific practices." said Diogo Magnani, Director, NHPRR. "They signal the importance of rigor and show the path to more reproducible, higher-quality research.”

The authors hope their findings will lead to broader adoption of RRIDs, supporting a more robust and reproducible research ecosystem.

More information can be found in the published paper in PLOS:

DOI: https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0327344
The journal's name: PLOS ONE

Anita Bandrowski
SciCrunch Inc
+31 6 47947744
email us here
Visit us on social media:
LinkedIn
Bluesky
X
Other

Legal Disclaimer:

EIN Presswire provides this news content "as is" without warranty of any kind. We do not accept any responsibility or liability for the accuracy, content, images, videos, licenses, completeness, legality, or reliability of the information contained in this article. If you have any complaints or copyright issues related to this article, kindly contact the author above.